Smith, a 17-year-old who has been competing in the sport since he was four, gave an outstanding pommel horse routine which earned him the gold medal – one to add to the collection along with the gold medal on the same apparatus from the Commonwealth Games last year in Melbourne.

 

It feels good to win a gold medal. I’m relieved,” said Smith. “We really needed a gold medal to be honest.”

 

His team mate Daniel Keatings was not far behind him. A great young talent, the 17 year-old from Corby came second ahead of the Chinese athlete, Xuezhang Chen.

 

 

 

The 17-year-old from Corby added to the medal count with another silver in the floor and has a good chance of picking up another medal in the vault competition tomorrow.

 

“To come just behind Smith is a great achievement," said Ketings. 

 

"He’s one of the best up and coming gymnasts on pommel, so to medal behind him is really special."

 

 

 

Finally, Jordan Lipton completed the set with a bronze medal on the uneven bars. It was just the third time the 13-year-old Scottish teenager had managed to finish her routine all the way through.

 

 

 

Team Leader Vince Walduck was proud of the team’s performance. “Jordan was great today, she performed her very difficult routine brilliantly," he said. "The boys did extremely well, we always knew they had the capability of performing here.

 

"Once they got over a slow start as they became adjusted to the apparatus their talent began to shine through. Interestingly, the total of their scores from the individual all-round competition on Saturday, would have placed them in the gold medal-position in the team event the day before.

 

"Over the competition they have continued to build on that success as their confidence has grown.”

 

In the diving competition, the 3 metre synchro girls team of Jodie McGroarty and Liz Heald won a second medal for Team GB in the pool today.

 

The newly formed partnership of Sheffield divers McGroarty, 17, and Heald, 14, began well and were lying in second behind the Chinese pair after round three. They slipped down the list after dropping their fourth dive and it took a spectacular penultimate dive, an inward two-and-a-half tucked somersault, to push them back into the medal zone.

 

Britain are assured of at least another two medals today after the men and women's hockey teams reached the final.

 

The women qualified despite losing their final pool match 3-1 to New Zealand because their opponents had to win by three clear goals.

 

The men, meanwhile, came from a goal down to beat Malaysia to win 2-1.